Review: Blacklinen

Perched on the ninth floor of The Millen – Penang’s newest design-forward hotel along the historic Millionaire’s Row – Blacklinen signals its presence with quiet confidence, the dry-aging cellar displayed behind glass just next to the entrance. The name ‘Blacklinen’ might evoke a moodier tone, but what unfolds at this modern charcoal grill restaurant is anything but sombre. Instead, it’s a creatively refined incarnation of open-fire cooking, premium ingredients, and polished hospitality.

It’s also safe to say that Blacklinen isn’t your standard steakhouse. It’s more of a culinary atelier with a restrained, almost minimalist design ethos – limited seating, clean lines, dark tones, warm lighting – that lets the food and fire do the talking.

Helmed by a team that seems to really understand its culinary brief, Blacklinen offers a straightforward menu built around quality meats, sustainable seafood, and a real respect for the subtle complexity that comes from smoke and flame. At the heart of the kitchen, yet also part of the dining room, is the impressive Santa Maria grill – a traditional Argentine-style open-fire grill that allows precise control of the cooking.

With its adjustable-height grate and live-fire cooking method, this grilling style took its name from and grew to popularity beginning in the mid-19th century in Central California’s Santa Maria Valley, and today, the so-called “gaucho grilling” forms an indelible part of California’s culinary heritage. The combination of traditional charcoal cooking and an adjustable grill grate delivers a unique sear and depth of flavour to meats that’s hard to replicate. At Blacklinen, the grill – still shiny and new when we visited – is in full view of the dining area and without a doubt, it’s the culinary engine room of the restaurant.

We feel that the restaurant’s concept fits seamlessly into The Millen’s promise of “A Different Penang.” It’s elegant without being overbearing, upscale without pretense. And in keeping with the hotel’s Autograph Collection badge, there’s still an understated sense of place here. Local influences find their way – if quietly – onto the plate, whether in the house-aged duck, the use of nutmeg glaze, or the side dishes that nod subtly to the region’s heritage. (If you want more full-throated local culinary influence, just visit Lili on level two!)

THE FOOD

Blacklinen’s menu is refreshingly compact, offering enough choices to be appealing but not overwhelming. A half-dozen or so starters, a couple of soups, and then diners are confronted with a very nice selection of wet-aged and dry-aged steaks and seafoods. Blacklinen dry-ages their products on-site, while wet-aged steaks are vacuum-sealed after cutting and weighing. On this point, when we visited, we did find ourselves wishing for thicker cuts of meat. For at least some of the cuts, a steakhouse this good really should not be accepting anything shy of about 3 cm thick from the supplier.

We started with a grilled Spanish Octopus (RM88) and a Niçoise Salad (RM48). We thoroughly enjoyed them both, and feel that the grill is a fine cooking method for octopus. Glazed with a soy and lemongrass sauce, this hit just right! The Niçoise salad, however, was a complete revelation. Served in a sort of ‘deconstructed’ manner ensured a delightful visual when the dish arrived, and everything from the tuna to the avocado to the olives was wonderfully fresh and flavourful. This one is an easy recommendation.

From the steak and seafood menu, we chose an aged rainbow trout and a Tajima ribeye steak (wet-aged). This is where our desire for thicker cuts came in. The ribeye was a satisfactory 313 g, but barely hit 2 cm in thickness. With that said, however, we felt that the price of RM258 was very fair. We also think the young cook on the grill did an admirable job of cooking the steak to a near-perfect medium-rare – after all, getting thinner cuts cooked properly is more of a challenge than doing so with a thick cut. The steak also hit the right flavour notes and had a reasonable percentage of fat for this particular cut (perhaps on the high side, but not bad). We would have preferred it had the steak not been sliced for us; most adults are able to cut their own meat. Pre-slicing the entire steak before delivery to the table only ensures that the juices will run out and, even worse, that the meat will rapidly cool off. However, we loved the roasted garlic bulb that accompanied the dish. Only a bit of flaked sea salt on the plate would have made it ideal, but that was delivered upon request.

As for the fish, the trout presents on the plate almost like a salmon fillet, but of course, yields a different taste experience. We thought it was a very nice fish, firm and flaky, and with its presentation alongside a grilled lemon, bundle of rosemary, and a pair of sauces, was an attractive dish, as well.

Diners are able to choose two sauces for each meat or seafood dish, from an appealing list of yuzu koshu butter, creamy horseradish, red wine Bordelaise, Béarnaise Armagnac, chimichurri, romesco, and a house-made steak sauce. We felt this was an excellent line-up of premium sauce offerings, though the creamy horseradish didn’t deliver as much of a kick as we had hoped.

Our only real concern with this part of the meal is with some of the side dishes, which come with some rather eye-popping price tags, such as RM34 for cauliflower, RM36 for mushrooms, RM34 for mixed veggies, and RM28 for slices of corn ribs. Perhaps that’s why the steak prices were relatively reasonable!

And on to the sweet finish! Apart from a passionfruit and caramel soufflé (which takes some time for preparation), the dessert menu didn’t offer much in the way of surprises, so we opted for the Classic Tiramisu (RM34), a safe and predictable choice – or so we thought! But wow, not only was this dish a complete winner from a taste perspective, it was also offered in the finest way imaginable: a tableside presentation!

Our server placed her trolley stand at the table and from her tray of many components, including real Kahlua, proceeded to assemble the tiramisu right before our eyes. The menu gave absolutely no hint of this uncommon (and frankly remarkable) presentation, so it was a most welcome surprise. We can’t recommend this dessert choice highly enough, and well-done to Blacklinen for embracing such a creative twist to this classic dessert option.

THE DRINKS

Wine aficionados will be in their element at Blacklinen. The comprehensive wine list at Blacklinen stands out for many good reasons – representation of major wine nations and regions, leading grape varieties and a few lesser-seen ones, listed vintages, reasonable prices, access to the owner’s cellar, a decent wine-by-the-glass programme, and informed staff who are interested in wines and know how to present them to diners.

As an aside, before dining at Blacklinen, we enjoyed a glass of wine at Good Society on the lobby level of the hotel. While the beverage list, including wines by the glass, is different from Blacklinen, it too is most tantalising. A glass of the Winery of Good Hope Chenin Blanc was ordered by the glass, and the wine presentation was perhaps among the best we have witnessed in the whole of Malaysia. Firstly, appropriate white wine glasses were placed on the table – empty – and only then one of the wait staff arrived with the bottle at the table to ensure it was the wine we ordered, even allowing us to try a bit before completing the full pour. This rarely happens in Malaysia, but it should, as it is a wine standard in most parts of the world. Most patrons in Malaysia are happy for a glass of wine to simply appear without them ever knowing whether or not it is the wine they ordered.

What was more impressive was that the staff who did this was a trainee with barely six months of hospitality training. We praised him and also mentioned his excellent service to the hotel management, and thanked them for implementing this high standard. What is also commendable is that the pricing is not exorbitant, which in our view encourages hotel guests to dine and drink in-house rather than seeking cheaper alternatives outside the hotel.

Suitably impressed, it was time to adjourn to dinner in Blacklinen. The wines by the glass include sparkling wines (a French Blanc de Blancs and an Italian Prosecco), three whites (a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, a Chardonnay from Burgundy, and a Riesling from the Mosel), five reds (a McLaren Vale blend, Argentinean Malbec, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, a Spanish blend from Priorat, and a blend from Languedoc-Roussillon) and a dessert wine (a Moscato from Asti). These range in price from a high of RM85 (French sparkling) down to RM34 (Le Grand Noir, Les Réserves from Languedoc-Roussillon).

Some of the wines that stood out from the full bottle list included Whispering Angel Rosé, Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley), Chateau Ste. Michelle Cold Creek Cabernet Sauvignon (Washington), Dog Point Pinot Noir (Marlborough), Ministry of Clouds Grenache and Carignan (McLaren Vale), Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino (Tuscany), Oremus Late Harvest Tokaji (Hungary), Selbach Bernkasteler Kurfurstlay Kabinett Riesling, Grant Burge The Holy Trinity (Barossa Valley), and Catena Zapata Malbec (Mendoza).

Equally rewarding was the sighting of some rather less common grape varieties such as Zinfandel, Gewürztraminer, Furmint, Grüner Veltliner, Semillon, and Arneis.

Both Good Society and Blacklinen have eclectic wine lists, from easy drinking to premium, including wines by the glass and premium wines from the owner’s cellar. These complement the grilled meats and seafood in Blacklinen.

We very much enjoyed the experience at one of Penang’s newest upscale restaurants. The concept is great, the food and wine are both pretty on-point, and the ambiance in the compact and cosy dining room is refined yet welcoming. We’d definitely go back, and indeed, would love to do so in a few months to see how things are progressing at Blacklinen. Given what we experienced, we can certainly see Blacklinen evolving into a must-try dining destination for Penang’s many gourmands, along with The Millen’s discerning in-house guests.

Additional text and photos by Chad Merchant

Location and Details

Blacklinen
Level 9, The Millen Penang
55 Jln Sultan Ahmad Shah
10050 George Town, Pulau Pinang

Reservations advised

T: 019-491 7168
W: https://www.blacklinen.com.my